The present invention relates to a process for purifying an oil and to a process for preparing an adsorbent which is loaded with an oil.
One embodiment of the invention relates to a process for preparing an adsorbent which is loaded with an oil by combining supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) with adsorption.
Another embodiment of the invention relates to a process for purifying an oil by combining SFE, adsorption and desorption.
Another embodiment of the invention relates to a process for purifying an oil by SFE, whereby in a first step the oil is extracted together with high volatile components while the low volatile components are separated in a raffinate stream. In a second step the high volatile components are separated.
The supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is a known process which is e.g. described by G. Brunner: Gas Extraction in xe2x80x9cTopics in Physical Chemistryxe2x80x9d, Steinkopff, Springer, Darmstadt and New York 1994.
The combination of a continuous fluid extraction with adsorption is known to purify gases. U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,737 describes e.g. a separation of solutes dissolved in a gaseous phase by passing the gaseous solvent containing the solute through a sorbent bed to produce a purified gaseous solvent.